Raising the Frame
TITLE: I've Been Working on the Railroad… Err Barn Players: '''Heather O'Leary, Elizabeth Maxwell, and Michael Donovan '''Location: Maxwell Ranch Scene: Started out with idle chatter RP, and turned into a Barn Raising. LOG BEGINS Heather O'Leary is sitting on the hood of her truck, watching the sunset. Elizabeth Maxwell slips out from inside the house, looking around quietly with a soft sigh. She glances around quickly, making sure of who all is out and around, before slipping towards the truck and smiling. "Hi there." Heather O'Leary smiles, still looking over to the west, "Hi Babe. How are things inside?" Elizabeth Maxwell glances back towards the house for a moment, before slipping up and wrapping an arm around you. "Things are quiet for the most part. It'll be nicer when we dig more out and put people in bedrooms, instead of sticking them in sleeping bags all around. Hmm… which is another thing, in theory, you could probably justify an above ground addition as well as one for the basement, on the idea of adding ranch hands…" Heather O'Leary nods, slightly, "Possibly…" Up here near the mountains, the sunset appears different, more purple and red than orange, like on the plains. The Red Dust in the air doesn't hurt either, "I don't know Liz… a sudden build up is going to look odd, but we might have to do it." She pauses, and frowns, "I guess I could always add a little more to what the neighbors think I am worth, by adding that too." Elizabeth Maxwell nods a little and hugs gently. "Yeah… I suppose you're right. Hmm…" She considers a little bit. "Even just doing stuff downstairs to have bedrooms will be an improvement." she stretches out a little. Heather O'Leary leans her head against Liz's shoulder, briefly, "For the others, Yeah. I do feel sorry for them." Elizabeth Maxwell nods a little bit and smiles. "and for us, considering. It'll mean we can go to the fridge and watch TV on the bigger one without disturbing people." Heather O'Leary nods, "That would be nice. Walking around in the dark, without tripping over someone." Elizabeth Maxwell laughs a little. "Forget that. Without people sleeping in there, we could turn the lights on. They'll have their doors shut, after all…" Heather O'Leary grins, "Lights… what are those?" She chuckles Elizabeth Maxwell laughs and rolls her eyes. "They're the things that keep us from running into tables and getting bruised. I heard someone had that happen a night or two ago." Heather O'Leary whistles innocently, "Couldn't be me… I don't get br…" She winces as she rubs a spot on her leg, one that has a fading bruise… "Well, ok, maybe sometimes." Elizabeth Maxwell laughs just a little, than awws and hugs a bit. "Got bruised, huh? Where you get that?" Heather O'Leary chuckles, "Tripped over someone and landed on the coffee table." Elizabeth Maxwell winces a little and hugs, nodding a bit. "Ouch. Sorry to hear that." Heather O'Leary waves her hand dismissively, "Nah, no worries. I should have gone through the Dining Room to get to the kitchen, instead of the Living Room…" Elizabeth Maxwell smiles a little bit and hugs a bit more. "Well… it probably would have been safer, yes. I'm just glad nothing worse happened. I'd have to have you laid up with a broken bone or something." Heather O'Leary smiles, "Think of the rest I could get." Elizabeth Maxwell laughs and kisses gently. "You could get some rest now, if you wanted to. It isn't like everything requires your direct attention… I could pick up on the stuff you normally do, or someone else could…" Heather O'Leary chuckles, "You know how it is, You do stuff, I do stuff, who does your stuff, if you are doing my stuff? Besides, I don't need rest… What I need is 8 hours uninterrupted sleep, which I will never get in the ranch, when every time some sneezes, it wakes everyone else up with a groan?" She is teasing, mostly. Elizabeth Maxwell laughs a little and shrugs. "Well, then we should probably fly up to somewhere and sleep in a hotel for a night or two. It isn't like we couldn't get back down in a short enough time to keep everyone happy." She grins a little. "But anyway…" she laughs and hugs. "idle fantasies aside, I'll try to see if I can't do anything about the situation to make sure you get eight hours of sleep." Heather O'Leary chuckles softly, "I'll be OK Liz…. I'm just still getting over the recent events. Shock Trooper in the front Yard, daring Rescue from the Mothership…" Elizabeth Maxwell smiles a little and strokes your hair gently. "It has been hectic, hasn't it. I'm just glad we got both things handled. Though Donovan seems to think the mission on the mothership may have gone too easily…" Heather O'Leary shrugs, "Good planning, I think…" She shrugs, "Donovan's just not used to things going down without some kind of hitch." Elizabeth Maxwell laughs just a little and hugs. "Probably. It never goes without a hitch for him. Bad luck I guess." Heather O'Leary chuckles softly, leaning her head against you again, enjoying the peacefulness, "Must be… Maybe he has been depending on Ham too much for the planning. Ham may good at planning Covert Ops, but he is not God, and he is not perfect." Elizabeth Maxwell laughs a little and rolls her e yes. "From what I've heard, it predates Ham showing up. Didn't see it directly, but that's what I've heard anyway. So it might be something else." Heather O'Leary shrugs, "Tyler doesn't help it any." Elizabeth Maxwell nods just a little bit. "Probably not. Still, an op done without either of them went off without the usual hitches. That's worthy of noting, in the general scheme of things." Heather O'Leary nods, "Which is why I hope we can keep them out of the planning for the Other Farm Mission…" Elizabeth Maxwell smiles sweetly. "Didn't he already want to go along for the farm mission? Maybe you should be guarding him during that, while I take care of things." Heather O'Leary smirks, "Now now… He did against the Shock Trooper…. I just meant that he didn't get to help PLAN the mission." Elizabeth Maxwell nods a little bit and smiles. "Well, true." she glances towards the house. "We have most of it planned already, don't we? Before we even mentioned it to him?" Heather O'Leary nods, "I think a couple more Recons, you and I hiding in the barn and watching them, and we should be ready to go." Elizabeth Maxwell nods a little bit and smiles. "Sounds good. Should go off pretty easily." She hmms a bit. "So what should we do for right now?" Heather O'Leary shrugs, "I was watching the sunset, but since that is over, I am at loose ends." Elizabeth Maxwell smiles and snuggles a little bit. "hmm. Well, I suppose so. Shouldn't be too hard to find something to do around here, though…" Heather O'Leary chuckles, "Well, we did get the Foundation poured today for the new Barn…" She motions to a BIG ole' Slab of Concrete. Elizabeth Maxwell smiles and glances over at it. "That's good at least. Now just the big setup." Heather O'Leary chuckles, "Yeah, building the thing to last. I considered setting up some flood lights, and working on it some more tonight… I'm not really that tired…" Elizabeth Maxwell hmms and smiles a little. "I'm not either. I could help you with it." Heather O'Leary chuckles, "You good with a hammer? Got to get the walls built up, so we can dry wall it, insulate it, and lay on the siding. Getting it all tied together so that it is sturdy is going to take a lot of work." Elizabeth Maxwell nods a little bit. "Can't be too hard, just make sure to hit the nail and not the thumb." Heather O'Leary chuckles, "Well, you could use the Contractor's Nail Gun too… Makes it a lot easier… Just a lot more dangerous." Elizabeth Maxwell grins just a little bit. "Sounds good. I'll be careful." Heather O'Leary chuckles, "I made sure we had a couple… they are dangerous, can put a 16 penny nail through a piece of rock… so be careful, ok?" Elizabeth Maxwell winces a little bit. "Or put one right through a finger, if someone isn't careful. I understand. Don't worry." Heather O'Leary nods, "Yeah…" She moves over towards the large stack of 2X4X12's, and the two Contractor Sized Air Compressors. Elizabeth Maxwell laughs a little, and heads to pick up the other one. "Suppose the measuring all has to be done as well, yes?" Heather O'Leary nods, wheeling the air compressor towards the foundation, "Yeah… we have to cut these down to 10 feet lengths… They are rough cut to 12 feet, but that is too high for the first level, not to mention, that since they are rough cut, they are not all the exact same length." Elizabeth Maxwell hmms and nods. "too high? I'd almost suggest cutting them as high as we can get them straight to, couldn't we reinforce it along the roof and base, if we needed to? Considering what we're really using it for, need as much room to not bump the next level as possible, don't we?" Heather O'Leary hmms, slightly, "Well, we could easily make the Levels higher than 10 feet, but to get secure walls, we'd have to use two 2X4's nailed together for the studs…" She looks thoughtful, "Which might not be a bad idea, all in all… OK, we'll go with 11'6"" Elizabeth Maxwell hmms and nods. "No, it isn't a bad idea." she smiles a little, and starts measuring, marking the cut and picking up the circular saw to do it. She laughs just slightly to herself, as she makes the cut, checking to make sure its smooth and flat. Heather O'Leary watches Liz closely, to make sure she didn't cut her fingers off, and smiles. She takes the first cut board, and lays it down on the concrete, along the edge, "OK, we'll place a double Stud at each end, and than ever 36 inches we'll place another." She glances around, making sure there is a tarp nearby, incase it decides to disobey the weathermen, and actually rain. She'll have to cover everything quickly, in that event. Elizabeth Maxwell nods at that, checking it over quickly and smiling. "all right…" she starts measuring another and getting ready to cut it. "Hmm… wonder what'd happen if I got a cut too bad. Not sure I'd dare take a transfusion from, well… anyone." Heather O'Leary frowns, "Don't tempt fate… Please." She sighs softly, "But I do know enough to put pressure on the wound, if it is possible, and that should help…" Elizabeth Maxwell laughs a little and shakes her head. "Don't worry, I'm not. Just thinking out loud mostly. Kinda like last night, when I realized something kinda disgusting." Heather O'Leary arches an eyebrow, keeping her eyes on you, "Oh? Do I want to know what you realized?" Elizabeth Maxwell rolls her eyes. "Something from the last mission, mostly, another reason marked down as cause for worry the more times I have to go up there in a disguise anything like that one." Heather O'Leary nods slightly, "I see.. well, we'll keep that to a minimum, since the more we go up there, the more likely we are to fuck up and get caught. Being a Resident of the Conversion Process is not my goal in life." Elizabeth Maxwell shivers a little bit. "Yeah, not mine either. And the more times it happens, the more likely it is that someone gets to do something disgusting to keep it from happening. There are circumstances where refusing an offer of food up there would be considered inexcusable enough to probably blow our cover." Heather O'Leary shudders at that thought, "I…. Damn…. OK, no more going up for me, if I can avoid it." Elizabeth Maxwell laughs a little and glances over. "Just make sure you're in the shocktrooper uniform. The officer is the one who's likely to get offered." Heather O'Leary chuckles softly, "There is that." She loads the Nail Gun up with nails, and tests the Air Pressure. All looks good. She is ready for the first 2X4 to nail in. Heather O'Leary and Liz are on a big concrete slab, with power tools. A Set of Flood Lights bathes the Concrete in light, and Liz is cutting wood. It is loud, but early enough that no one is trying to sleep. Elizabeth Maxwell glances over to Heather and laughs a little bit. She mutters to Heather O'Leary, " Yes, there is that. If I… get… with… it… dragged… there." Michael Donovan crosses his arms and simply watches for a few moments. Finally, after some deliberation, he tilts his head at the two of you and says, "Do you two need help with that?" seeming somewhat surprised that no one seems to be. Heather O'Leary chuckles softly, "Meanie…" She looks over to Mike, "Hey there… any good with power tools?" They have only just started, so maybe the noise hasn't registered with the Resistance Members inside, or maybe, they like to conserve their energy for late night obstacle course runs, when they want to go to the bathroom. Elizabeth Maxwell glances over at Mike and raises her eyebrows just a little bit, then she glances at Heather, then back to him. "There's a margin between 'good' and "won't put a nail through ones finger or accidentally cut one off". Though not much of one, admittedly." Michael Donovan chuckles lightly at that. "Trust me, with all the time I've spent trying to keep myself in one piece, if I can dodge Diana's thugs, I sure as heck have nothing to worry about from Black & Decker." Heather O'Leary chuckles, "We'll keep the nail guns out of your hands than. They aren't Black and Decker… their Delta. Nice American product, that can put a 2 1/2" nail through two pieces of 2x4…" Elizabeth Maxwell laughs a little bit and nods, leaning in, and shooting a nail into a spot. "Though I'm a little leery of using nails throughout, don't long screws hold a little better?" Heather O'Leary shrugs, "Nails are standard for House and Barn building in this area…" She shrugs, "Your Ranch House is made with them…" She shrugs, "And I forgot to get any 3" screws… Plus they take longer to screw in, than the nail gun. And nails hold pretty well… notice the grooves cut in them? That helps hold the nails in place…" Well, to see the grooves, you'd have to see the line of nails unloaded from the Nail Gun, but that is not exactly on Heather's mind, rather she is concerned that Liz not hurt herself. Michael Donovan smirks at that. "That said, I'm sure we have at least a couple more armchair handypersons wandering around the premises, and, if not, I -do- know that the pointy-ends of the nails are supposed to go in first." Elizabeth Maxwell hmms a little and nods, considering that. "Oh." She shrugs a bit. "didn't know that. Oh well." She puts another nail in, and checks it. "good enough for me at least." she laughs a little at Donovan then. "And you hit your thumb how many times trying to hang pictures, while learning that?" Heather O'Leary chuckles, "Feel free to lend a hand Mike. We'll need more than just my strength when we bring the wall up, and anchor it to the Concrete. Likely take four or five people to get it up, while three more set the anchor screws in place. Tonight, we were just working on some of the wall framing, so we could let others get an early start. I had most of the handymen out helping with the concrete pour. Took an hour to get it all level, with the pipes in place for the Plumbing." Michael Donovan rubs his chin thoughtfully. "You know, I'm sure Julie could have helped you there. For someone who's self-taught, she's really pretty good with a monkeywrench." Elizabeth Maxwell hmms a little and nods. "If she had the time she could. She's awfully busy nowadays though, trying to peddle to Bates enough to keep him from storming here and the club. She deserves every last bit of rest she can get outside of having to do that." Heather O'Leary nods, "Mind you, if Bates storms this place, he'll be met with an angry Pilot in a Skyfighter. His authority doesn't stretch out her, and I'd be happy to remind him of it." Michael Donovan bristles slightly at the mention of Nathan Bates, but otherwise refrains from comment on the subject. Elizabeth Maxwell nods a little bit. "Yeah, any shot out here and I'd start shooting as well. I've already been thinking about what extra can be done for security around the yard itself, without drawing too much attention." Heather O'Leary sets down her nail gun, after nailing another cut 2x4 to the bottom stud, "We could always camouflage some Surface to Air batteries, Re-loadable Stingers, or the like, in the tree area, and some AA Guns. They'd not be visible from the air, if we used enough of the trees and some Camo-Netting." Elizabeth Maxwell nods a little bit at that, and raises her eyebrows. "I'm thinking about things to prevent a ground assault as well. Something to prevent a repeat of the other night." Heather O'Leary looks thoughtful, "Well, a 10 foot high Electrified Fence would keep out the trespassers, but it might look just the slightest bit out of place, if you consider the neighbors think I am a friendly gal." Michael Donovan frowns a bit as he thinks. "I'd recommend something a bit more subtle. I picked up a few pointers from some rebels in El Salvador, but again, they might not be all that nice for the neighbors to trip over…" Elizabeth Maxwell nods a little bit at Heather and Mike. "yeah. That's the big issue, something to keep it safe without making us look unfriendly. We don't exactly have people to man hidden gun nests anywhere…" she rolls her eyes. "I'd hate to stick someone out having to do it, as well. Another of those duties that's boring 99.9 percent of the time." Heather O'Leary yawns suddenly, and straightens up, "Damn, that hit sudden…" She pauses, and says, "Bobby traps, while keeping out the unwanted, can also hurt our allies…." She sighs, "We might have to go with a better watch being kept, and maybe, a lot of security cameras, running back to the house, so wecan keep our eyes on the surrounding areas, without a presence being detected…" She shrugs, "I'll see if I can't get some ideas, sleeping on it. I'm not going to touch the power tools once I start yawning, too easy to make a mistake and get hurt seriously." LOG ENDS Category:Log Category:RATED-PG